Garth Brooks [ tickets ] will suit up and work out with the San Diego Padres during 1999 spring training camp as a non-roster invitee, it was announced last week by the Padres. For Brooks, the move marks the realization of a lifetime fantasy, capping Brooks' previous baseball pinnacle of pinch-running at a March, 1998 exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs.

The Padres will pay approximately $200,000 -- the equivalent of a major league starter's yearly salary -- to the Touch 'Em All Foundation, a children's charity supported by Maor League Baseball, entertainers and corporate partners, according to AP.

Brooks is expected to show up at the Padres' Peoria, AZ training camp early rather than attend the February 24th Grammy Awards ceremony, where he is nominated for three awards.

In a conference call for the press on Friday (2/12), Brooks said, ''I'm excited, I'm nervous, I'm scared, and it's going to be neat. Make no mistake about it, I'm out there to play baseball.''

The AP report notes that should Brooks perform well at spring training camp, he could be offered a position on a minor league team such as Southern California's Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

Padres General Manager Kevin Towers welcomed Brooks in a prepared statement, saying in part, ''Garth has a lot of fans in the Padres family, but beyond that, he earned a great deal of respect from us all with the way he carried himself in Peoria last spring.''

''This is a man who has achieved more than anybody I can think of in the music industry. He's gotten to this point through hard work and perseverance, the same qualities he has demonstrated in developing his baseball skills over the past few years. I think it will be fun for our fans, our players and for Garth, too.''